Speakers at a national meeting in the capital today (20 September) called for a safe-water project in Satkhira to be replicated in other coastal areas, where salinity, waterlogging and frequent disasters are worsening the shortage of safe water.
Save the Children in Bangladesh organised the meeting on safe water, where the Satkhira project was highlighted as an initiative that could be adapted to other coastal areas.
The project, running in Satkhira Sadar and Assasuni upazilas since August 2023, is providing safe water to more than 41,000 people, including over 16,000 children, according to the organisers.
Mohammad Navid Safiullah, additional secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said problems such as excessive rainfall, floods, salinity, heatwaves and cold waves had increased in the country in recent years.
He also said the shortage of safe water in coastal areas was also affecting women’s reproductive health, as well as people’s overall health and ability to cope with disasters.
Referring to the Satkhira project, he said local people understood the problems in their areas best, so initiatives involving them could be used in other areas as well.
“Government alone cannot solve these problems. People have to be kept at the centre of the solution,” he said.
The project has been running in Satkhira Sadar and Assasuni since August 2023. Save the Children Korea is funding it, while NGO Uttaran is implementing it.
According to the organisers, five solar-powered reverse osmosis (RO) plants have been installed under the project to purify saline water and supply it for drinking.
Five pond-sand filters have also been repaired, 10 deep tube wells installed, and facilities set up to collect rainwater. The five RO plants remained operational after Cyclone Remal in May 2024, supplying safe water to around 30,000 people at the time, they said.
The project also has a local revenue-collection system to cover the cost of supplying water, and the five plants generated Tk14,59,240 from August 2023 to December 2026, according to the organisers.
The use of solar panels has reduced electricity costs by around 90%, they added.
Suman Sengupta, country director of Save the Children in Bangladesh, said local government, communities and development organisations were working together to provide safe water to people in Satkhira.
About The Author
